I started out wanting to be a writer when I was old enough to tap the keys on an old Underwood typewriter. Some of you may not even know what that is and have never seen one. Yes, I’m old. My first ‘novel’ literally started out “It was a dark and stormy night . . .”. If you’ve ever seen the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Shultz, that’s also the way Charley Brown’s dog Snoopy started all of his novels, tapping away at what I can only assume was an old Underwood typewriter on top of his doghouse. Snoopy is my favorite cartoon character of all time, and for good reason. Actually, I always wanted to just be Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s fictional Beagle pet. Snoopy is interesting because he is imaginative, supremely confident, and a canine master of disguise. As Joe Cool, he’s unflappable, above the fray and hip like we’d all like to be. As the World War I Flying Ace, he engages in aerial combat with the notorious Red Baron. While pondering life from the top of his doghouse, he continues to try to complete the next great American novel and plots revenge on the cat next door. In Shultz’ own words, Snoopy can “win or lose, be a disaster, a hero, or anything, and yet it all works out. I like the fact that when he’s in real trouble he can retreat into a fantasy and thereby escape”. I always wanted to be just like Snoopy. But alas, real life isn’t like Snoopy’s life. After more than 20 years in unrewarding and stressful careers that involved writing but weren’t all about writing, I finally decided to focus my life. I've settled into just writing books, helping people with business plans, offering advice and consulting to new businesses. While there are a few new tools and some technological advances, starting and running a business today isn't much different than it's ever been. I've started a couple of my own, and I learned a thing or two that may help you to avoid mistakes that I've made myself. I live just north of Dallas, Texas with my wife of over 35 years and two little dogs who interrupt me way too often when I'm working (the dogs, not the wife). I also have 3 children, but they're geographically dispersed and they don't interrupt me much. As a matter of fact, I wish they'd interrupt me more often. I'm always happy to hear from people wanting to start businesses or who are in their first year of business. You can contact me directly at rob@robert-fox.comRead more about this authorRead less about this author